If any of you aren't sure who Sophie is, you can find her story in the Rescue section.

Today was the day to go pick up the girl. My friend Janine came with me. We got there right at noon when they opened. They were all so excited that one of the dogs was going home. We played with a couple other dogs and then got Sophie. She was very excited to be leaving! They microchipped her before we left and then sent us off with a bag of food and lots of hugs (of both me and Sophie!).

I had brought the car harness but Sophie didn't understand that she couldn't turn around so she kept getting tangled before we even left. So I unbuckled her and she was content napping in the back seat all the way home. She alternated between napping on the floor of the back seat, on the back seat, and then trying to climb up front so she could drive. We stopped once about halfway home for a potty break for her.

When we got home, Janine waited outside with Sophie while I went in to get Inara. We walked them for about 30 minutes. They seemed interested in each other in a friendly way, so a couple times we let them get close enough to sniff for a minute, then called them away and gave treats. I think they would get along and have a great time playing, but since I live alone I'm not going to try it.

I brought Sophie in and she immediately went for the cat, who, needless to say, was not thrilled. Not sure what her intentions were (play or prey) but I wasn't about to find out. I took her upstairs - she paused for a minute at the bottom of the stairs, but then charged right up - and put her in my spare room. Janine and I sat with her for a bit while she played with the new toys I'd gotten her: a Nylabone dinosaur and an evil Cuz. She thinks the Cuz is the greatest thing ever invented and I cannot WAIT for her to kill the squeaker. She had a great time charging around, flinging the Cuz, and just acting like a total goofball. Who knows if she's ever had toys before?

She's a total powerhouse. Her pulling makes Inara's feel like a chihuahua. This girl was born to do weight pull! She also snorts constantly, like a little piglet. And snores like a lumberjack. She doesn't resource guard anything - toys or food. She's a little mouthy when playing and will occasionally spring several feet straight into the air to try to reach your face for a full-contact hello. Her nails are very short (a professional groomer donated her services so all the dogs got baths and nail trims!) and her teeth actually look fantastic. She goes Thursday to the vet for a spay and to have her hernia fixed and mammary mass removed. I'm gonna ask if the vet can do a boob lift too as she has really saggy nipples!

I also took a few videos of her playing - these were with my cell phone as my camera was dead, so excuse the quality. But you can see what a total doofus she is!

I cannot say thank you enough to all of you here who provided me with the emotional support and cheering section that enabled me to do this. And thank you to Jenn (LMM) who is going to take Sophie into her rescue when a space opens up. And thank you thank you THANK YOU to those of you who donated money - I wouldn't have been able to do this without you.

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

I found out that she is a humper. I was just up spending some time with her and she decided to grab my leg and start humping. We had words and I pulled her off by her collar. She immediately grabbed back on and started humping again so I didn't say a word but just took her by the collar, put her in the crate, and left the room. Pervy dog. Will spaying help that at this age?

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

Awww- she is too cute!! I'm glad you were able to take her in!! It is great to see happy stories like this!!! She looks like she is having the time of her life with you!!!!!!! I hope her humping stops after she gets fixed. A friend has a 13 yr old female that was fixed when she was 6 and she does not mount, but she does rub herself on objects. When she had a sweater on in the winter, it had strings that wrapped around the back legs to keep it on her and it got her excited. She stopped at damn near every tree to pleasure herself. I know her previous owner did not discourage the behavior so that may be a big part of it too. Ino occasionally still tries to mount when he is mentally overstimulated. Usually swimming gets him wound up and when we start walking home, he tries mounting or tug-o-war with the leash because if it was up to him- he would swim forever. Also sometimes when he is playing with excessive excitement- he occasionally attempts, but it is not a regular thing with him.

She didn't try humping this morning so it probably was just a bout of over-excitement. If she does it again I'll take her by the collar and put her back in her crate w/o saying a word - she'll figure it out eventually. She made it through the night w/o messing in her crate which shocked me as the shelter had said she was a messy girl. Maybe because she was on newspaper instead of a blankie?

She is WAY too interested in The Piss. She lunged after her last night when I brought her in from peeing (she was on leash so no harm), and then this morning when I brought her downstairs she went right to the spot where she had seen The Piss and started looking for her again. So she will do best in a zero cat household.

She is a total goon with her toys. I didn't let her have the Cuz this morning because it was too early, but I gave her the Nylabone and she was tossing it around, rolling on it, getting zoomies with it etc, before she settled down to chew on it. She's fun, but a handful!

I've decided to keep the name Sophie as I just can't stop myself from calling her that. After my shift at the shelter this morning, we're going to work on name recognition and basic manners.

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

I'M ASHAMED to say, I had no idea there was a plan for you to try foster her..... I've been so busy/gone with the new job, I barely have time to cruise through PBT . I"m thrilled.....and yeah, I couldn't stop smiling either, as I watched those videos......

BLESS YOU...............I WISH I could take her. truly-truly.

This made my day......

“Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are Anger and Courage. Anger that things are the way they are. Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”----Augustine

Here is a video I just took with my cell phone. I have each girl baby-gated in a bedroom so they're super close but still behind bars. Those of you who know Inara and how she used to be with dogs will understand why I was almost crying with joy during this. I'm so happy I can just sit in the hallway and allow both dogs to be out at the same time yet still separated.

Shanna, I don't know if they recognized each other. It's been so very long because Inara was born 10/22/05 and was taken from Sophie after 4 or 5 weeks. The one thing that makes me think that MAYBE she remembers the smell is that she's remarkably relaxed around her. That, or my training finally is paying off! Either way, it's just thrilling.

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"